Overview
Our sharpening service will provide a good serviceable edge on the blade. The result is typically “very sharp” with a small secondary bevel and a bit of an “apple seed” profile. The resulting edge is somewhat dependent on the particular blade. Some blades will take and hold sharper edges than others and the thickness of the blade will determine how wide the bevel will need to be. We adjust the angle of the edge to suit the specific blade and attempt to get as close to a bevel-less edge as possible without marring the surface of the blade.
The Sharpening Process
The sharpening service is done with a belt sander. The process involves many passes with sanding belts of various grits. The blades are rested between passes to prevent them from becoming hot and damaging their temper. By default we will sharpen as much of the blade as possible including any false edges if appropriate. If you have a different preference, feel free to make that request in the special instructions at check out. We can sharpen only the last half or third of an edge, for example. Our sword sharpening expert has personally sharpened several thousand swords at this point, so will provide you with a professional service.
What the Service is Not
The resulting edge will be “sword sharp” not razor sharp. Our goal is to provide you with a usable edge for cutting practice that will hold up to some use and not require constant re-sharpening. In other words, we intend to provide you with a serviceable weapon, not a personal grooming implement. The service will not provide a completely bevel-less edge. To create that type of edge will necessarily scratch up the blade surface and we lack the machinery and time to provide a full re-polishing of a blade’s surface. A service of that nature would be significantly more expensive as a great deal more time would be required. We do not offer this type of service at this time.
Disclaimer
We make no guarantee that the resulting edge will meet with your expectations. Every blade is different and some will take and hold a sharper edge than others, due to the blade material, heat treatment or geometry. Some customers can also have incorrect assumptions about sword sharpness and improper expectations as a result. All we can say for sure is that the resulting edge will be sharper than the default edge, in most cases, significantly so. We can not provide any refunds for the service once it has been completed, so consider it to be provided “as is”. That being said, if you are unhappy with the product for any reason, we do still allow you to return the item for a full refund, including the sharpening costs under our normal return policy. This does not apply to special sharpening requests, for example if we sharpen something specially for you that does not normally list that option on our site. The vast majority of our customers are happy with the results of the service, so as long as you keep the above mentioned in mind, we are confident you will be pleased with the results as well.
Donovan Quesenberry (verified owner) –
I like and have several original Pattern 1897 British sabers. When I bought this Universal Swords version, and received it, I was quite pleased. It is very near the originals in the collection. I did pay for sharpening only because all the originals are unsharp. So, I wanted the replica to be different. Was very displeased with KOA’s sharpening service. Compared to my unsharp originals, the replica wasn’t much different. I could hardly cut myself with it let alone paper. When I contacted KOA, they didn’t take responsibility at all. They wanted photos of the replica which I provided, and even they couldn’t tell if it was sharp. I didn’t ask for a refund or to send the sword back. I just wanted them to know about the error. Basically, they blew me totally off.
Most unfortunate. I guess the customer isn’t right after all, according the KOA. I intended KOA to be my first go to supplier for an expanding collection. Well, not anymore. I’ll still look at what swords they provide to the market, but if I can find it elsewhere…. Trust is so important.
David –
Hi Donovan –
I am sorry you are frustrated, but our team reviewed the photos and asked for you to send ones that were close-up. We followed-up on 3/14 with this email and were hoping you’d get back to us –
“We ask for the pictures as a way to document issues with orders and to show to the team for learning tools. What we can do is either offer you a refund on the sharpening cost, or send you a label to have it sharpened and sent back out to you. Please let us know which you prefer. Again we do apologize.”
Please reach out to the team if you’d like to pursue those options. Thank you!